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Coventry Street
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Coventry Street
Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary of state to Charles II.
The street was constructed in 1681 for entertainment and retail purposes, and acquired a shady character with numerous gambling houses and a reputation for prostitution. This changed during the late 19th century, with the establishment of several music hall outlets including the London Pavilion, the Prince of Wales Theatre and the Trocadero Music Hall. In the 20th century, it became known for its high-traffic restaurants, including the first J. Lyons and Co. and the first premises of the seafood restaurant Scott's. It was also popular for its nightclubs, and was the original location of the Flamingo Club.
Coventry Street is one-way for motor traffic, running eastbound. It is around 0.2 miles (350 yd) long and runs east from Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square via Haymarket and Wardour Street. The nearest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square (both on the Piccadilly line).
The western section of the road is part of the A4 one-way system between Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. No buses run along the full length of Coventry Street but there is access to numerous routes from Piccadilly Circus or nearby Charing Cross Road.
There is historical evidence of a road linking Haymarket with Wardour Street in 1585, roughly in the present location of Coventry Street. This pre-dated Leicester Square, and ran as far as St. Martin's Field, stopping short of St. Martin's Lane.
Coventry Street was constructed in 1681 as a thoroughfare between the two places and was named after the secretary of state to Charles II, Henry Coventry. Coventry had previously built a house in this location, and renamed it Coventry House in 1670. The house was described as "a capital messuage with divers outhouses, Gardens, Yards. … capable of being greatly improved." Coventry died in 1686 and the house was demolished four years later, to be replaced by a group of smaller houses. The land to the north of the street was partly owned by Colonel Thomas Panton, and partly by the Earl of St Albans. John Ogilby's 1681 map of London shows Coventry Street built up on both sides.
The street had been designed for commercial and entertainment purposes, rather than a place of residence. For much of the 18th and early 19th century, there were a number of gambling houses along the street, contributing to a shady and downmarket character. The historian J.T.Smith remarked in 1846 that Coventry Street had "a considerable number of gaming-houses in the neighbourhood at the present time, so that the bad character of the place is at least two centuries old, or ever since it was built upon".
The Trocadero sits in the area between Coventry Street, Great Windmill Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, with the main entrance on Coventry Street. The origins of the site can be traced back to 1744, when John Cartwright gave a 99-year lease on this land to Thomas Higginson, in order to construct a real tennis court. Higginson retained ownership of the court until 1761, after which it had a number of owners through to the 19th century. From the 1820s onwards, it was used as a music and exhibition hall. After the lease expired in 1842, ownership passed to John Musgrove, who sublet it to Robert Bignel. Bignel redesigned the premises as a number of assembly rooms called the Argyll Rooms. It acquired a notorious reputation for prostitution, and consequently closed in 1878. It re-opened four years later as the Trocadero Palace, a music hall. A group of shops were established on the site in 1889, and the entire development was sold to J. Lyon's & Co in 1895. Having been part of the Lyons restaurant complex and shops for much of the 20th century, it is now a shopping centre.
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Coventry Street
Coventry Street is a short street in the West End of London, connecting Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square. Part of the street is a section of the A4, a major road through London. It is named after the politician Henry Coventry, secretary of state to Charles II.
The street was constructed in 1681 for entertainment and retail purposes, and acquired a shady character with numerous gambling houses and a reputation for prostitution. This changed during the late 19th century, with the establishment of several music hall outlets including the London Pavilion, the Prince of Wales Theatre and the Trocadero Music Hall. In the 20th century, it became known for its high-traffic restaurants, including the first J. Lyons and Co. and the first premises of the seafood restaurant Scott's. It was also popular for its nightclubs, and was the original location of the Flamingo Club.
Coventry Street is one-way for motor traffic, running eastbound. It is around 0.2 miles (350 yd) long and runs east from Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square via Haymarket and Wardour Street. The nearest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square (both on the Piccadilly line).
The western section of the road is part of the A4 one-way system between Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. No buses run along the full length of Coventry Street but there is access to numerous routes from Piccadilly Circus or nearby Charing Cross Road.
There is historical evidence of a road linking Haymarket with Wardour Street in 1585, roughly in the present location of Coventry Street. This pre-dated Leicester Square, and ran as far as St. Martin's Field, stopping short of St. Martin's Lane.
Coventry Street was constructed in 1681 as a thoroughfare between the two places and was named after the secretary of state to Charles II, Henry Coventry. Coventry had previously built a house in this location, and renamed it Coventry House in 1670. The house was described as "a capital messuage with divers outhouses, Gardens, Yards. … capable of being greatly improved." Coventry died in 1686 and the house was demolished four years later, to be replaced by a group of smaller houses. The land to the north of the street was partly owned by Colonel Thomas Panton, and partly by the Earl of St Albans. John Ogilby's 1681 map of London shows Coventry Street built up on both sides.
The street had been designed for commercial and entertainment purposes, rather than a place of residence. For much of the 18th and early 19th century, there were a number of gambling houses along the street, contributing to a shady and downmarket character. The historian J.T.Smith remarked in 1846 that Coventry Street had "a considerable number of gaming-houses in the neighbourhood at the present time, so that the bad character of the place is at least two centuries old, or ever since it was built upon".
The Trocadero sits in the area between Coventry Street, Great Windmill Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, with the main entrance on Coventry Street. The origins of the site can be traced back to 1744, when John Cartwright gave a 99-year lease on this land to Thomas Higginson, in order to construct a real tennis court. Higginson retained ownership of the court until 1761, after which it had a number of owners through to the 19th century. From the 1820s onwards, it was used as a music and exhibition hall. After the lease expired in 1842, ownership passed to John Musgrove, who sublet it to Robert Bignel. Bignel redesigned the premises as a number of assembly rooms called the Argyll Rooms. It acquired a notorious reputation for prostitution, and consequently closed in 1878. It re-opened four years later as the Trocadero Palace, a music hall. A group of shops were established on the site in 1889, and the entire development was sold to J. Lyon's & Co in 1895. Having been part of the Lyons restaurant complex and shops for much of the 20th century, it is now a shopping centre.
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